NEWFIELDS — Republican Chris Sununu ended speculation Thursday that he’s mulling a run for higher office, announcing that he won’t seek the governor’s seat or run for Congress in 2014.

Sununu, who is serving his second term on the state’s Executive Council, had previously ruled out a run for U.S. Senate, but his name was still being floated as a potential GOP candidate for federal office next year.

A raft of Democratic incumbents are slated to defend their seats in 2014, including Gov. Maggie Hassan, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter.

In an email Wednesday, Sununu said after careful consideration, he decided mounting a campaign for higher office next year is “not best for me or my family at this time.”

“I have a young family, a growing business at Waterville Valley Resort, and I still really love serving the people of New Hampshire on the Executive Council,” he wrote in a prepared statement.

Sununu was a political newcomer in 2010 when he challenged Democratic incumbent Beverly Hollingworth, of Hampton, for the District 3 Executive Council seat. He prevailed during an election year that saw conservative voters ousting well-established left-leaning veterans in favor of those running on a platform of fiscal restraint.

Voters swung in the opposite direction in 2012, delivering major victories to New Hampshire Democrats. However, Sununu was re-elected by a comfortable margin, bucking the blue shift to beat his Democratic opponent by 15 points. He will face re-election next year if he chooses to seek a third term on the council.

Sununu’s announcement this week comes on the heels of a similar decision by his brother, former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who said in April that he won’t seek another term in the Senate, or any other political office.

New Hampshire Democrats are characterizing the news as evidence state Republicans are wary to enter electoral races next year because of the strength of the presumptive Democratic ticket. In a prepared statement, NHDP Communications Director Harrell Kirstein wrote that the state Republican party is “in shambles,” promoting a platform that’s “about as popular as a root canal.”

“At this point the best case scenario for New Hampshire Republicans is a slate of failed Tea Party candidates who voters have already rejected,” he wrote.

In his announcement this week, Sununu was more optimistic about the GOP’s odds next year.

“There are a number of great Republican candidates in New Hampshire who I know can get this state and country moving again, and can regain the confidence and trust of voters that has been lost by liberals here and in Washington,” Sununu wrote.